Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 1 hr ago
Economist William Nordhaus, a climate research pioneer, dies at 85
Economist William Nordhaus has died at 85 after a brain cancer, according to Yale News.
He was a professor at Yale and a co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in economics with Paul Romer.
Nordhaus began studying climate change in the 1970s, making him one of the first economists to work on the issue.
In 1992, he published a model to estimate the future costs of greenhouse gas emissions and use them to set a current price for polluting activities.
The model helped establish the idea of pricing carbon as a way to encourage a shift to cleaner energy.
Nordhaus initially put the price of a tonne of carbon at $4 or $5, drawing criticism that he understated the need for strong climate action and sparking a dispute with economist Nicholas Stern.
He later raised his cost estimates and backed a global carbon tax, and carbon pricing remains a basis for economic calculations of climate policies.
Economist William Nordhaus, a pioneer in climate economics and co-winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Economics, has died at 85.
He began working on climate change in the 1970s and developed the DICE model, published in 1992, to estimate the future costs of greenhouse gas emissions.
His work helped establish the idea of pricing carbon emissions as an incentive for the energy transition.
Nordhaus initially estimated a price of $4 or $5 per tonne of carbon, a position that drew criticism from economist Nicholas Stern.
He later incorporated higher costs into his models and argued for a global carbon tax.
- Who
- William Nordhaus, an economist and 2018 Nobel Prize co-winner.
- What
- He died at 85.
- When
- Friday, 30 November; the year is not stated.
- Where
- Not stated.
- Why
- He died following glioblastoma, a brain cancer.
William Nordhaus
Nicholas Stern
Climate-cost assessment
William Nordhaus
Nordhaus criticised Stern's discounting method and calculation of the costs of irreversible climate effects.
Nicholas Stern
Stern's 2006 report was described as much more alarmist than Nordhaus's early conclusions.
Nordhaus began working on climate change.
He published the DICE model to assess future costs from greenhouse gas emissions.
Nicholas Stern published a report that was more alarmist than Nordhaus's conclusions, leading to a dispute over their methods.
Nordhaus shared the Nobel Prize in Economics with Paul Romer.
Nordhaus died at 85 following glioblastoma.
- Age at death
- 85
- Nobel Prize
- 2018, shared with Paul Romer
- Climate research
- Began in the 1970s
- DICE model
- Published in 1992
- Initial carbon price estimate
- $4 or $5 per tonne
4 sources
« La taxe carbone, principale recommandation de William Nordhaus, est devenue la martingale des économistes contre le réchauffement climatique »
William Nordhaus Has Died. Nobelist Influenced Climate Policy.
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a central figure on campus for more than fifty years